Did this boy inspire you? And what would they say today?
No EPIRB, no sat phone, no weather router yet, in 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham began a solo around-the-world voyage from San Pedro, California, in a 24-foot sloop. Five years and 33,000 miles later, he returned to home port with a wife, daughter and stories and adventures he fortunately shared with the rest of us through National Geographic and the book 'Dove'.
It was a remarkable voyage that inspired generations of voyagers and, perhaps at some level, made boats like the Westsail 32 one of most popular cruising boats of an era. Robin Lee Graham's story certainly inspired me. As a 10 year old reading National Geographic and later a teen reading 'Dove' I'm sure many of the thousands of miles I've sailed were and are still the halo of his trip into what was still a pretty unknown world at the time.
Update from SAIL magazine: http://www.sailmagazine.com/robin-lee-graham-latest-teen-circumnavs
Facebook pics: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DOVE-by-Robin-Lee-Graham/125790077436667
You can still get the book and it's still a great read.
Photos from 'back in the day':
